Rules
Three on-stage contestants, one a returning champion, were each given one point at the outset of the game, indicated by diamonds on the front of their podiums. Also in front of the contestants' podiums was an electronic wheel with numbers 0-9, blank spaces and a car symbol. The symbols on the wheel were spaced so that each spin had two contestants with numbers or the car symbol and a third with a blank space. Players spun the wheel by pulling a lever. After each spin, the player whose space was blank was shown the first halves of two riddle-type phrases, each with an acronym to be filled in. An example of these would be as follows:
"When T.O. speaks..."
"As predicted, the I.O.M...."
After selecting one of the two phrases, the host read the rest of the selected phrase (example: after selecting the first phrase above, the host read "...all of the House listens." Answer: Tip O'Neill). The first player to buzz-in and fill in the acronym correctly scored one point, and incorrect guesses subtracted one point. If neither opponent guessed correctly, the player who selected the riddle won $50. The first to score 6 points won the game & $500.
If the car symbol appeared under a contestant's pointer, that contestant attempted to guess which number was hidden under a question mark on the car's license plate. The first three weeks of the series had a separate plate used for each attempt. Later, previously incorrect numbers were automatically eliminated from each subsequent attempt. Guessing correctly won the player the car regardless of the game's outcome.
Read more about this topic: Your Number's Up
Famous quotes containing the word rules:
“Let’s start with the three fundamental Rules of Robotics.... We have: one, a robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Two, a robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. And three, a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.”
—Isaac Asimov (1920–1992)
“Today the tyrant rules not by club or fist, but, disguised as a market researcher, he shepherds his flocks in the ways of utility and comfort.”
—Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)
“The new grammar of race is constructed in a way that George Orwell would have appreciated, because its rules make some ideas impossible to express—unless, of course, one wants to be called a racist.”
—Stephen Carter (b. 1954)